It's been a mad, mad, mad, mad, mad month

Well, I knew December was going to get crazy, what with the holidays and trying to finish up my prospectus for my dissertation (which has now been accepted - yay!), but I didn't account for finding out in late November that my 34 year old husband had colon cancer and needed surgery ASAP. That threw us and our families for quite a loop, and I didn't quite feel up to blogging about it at the time. He had his surgery on the 17th of December and was home for Christmas. He is now so well recovered that he is back to walking the dog and doing all the cooking (I do believe he couldn't handle any more of my ham-handed kitchen attempts). He is still going to be getting chemotherapy in the new year, but the doctors are very positive about his recovery and future health. That, and his swift recovery from intrusive abdominal surgery has made things seem more manageable, and I plan to be back on a more regular posting schedule. I hope no one missed me too too much. ;) I missed all of you and all the bloggers I haven't been keeping up with - I have about 500 posts to read now, so I've got my work cut out for me!!

I have been busy all this time, so I'll have a few photos to share over the next few posts. Here's some merino from the Yarn Wench that I spun into a nice, even fingering weight yarn:

I believe the colorway was Squash, or maybe Squash Blossom, but I was too hasty in tidying up my labels. I've wanted to make Laila's Socks from Nancy Bush's Folk Knitting in Estonia ever since I saw them, in their original orange and white incarnation, and I think that this yarn may be the perfect choice for that. I'm very excited, though I'm worried about colorwork and socks - I haven't had too much luck making colorwork fit over my heel... Still, it's worth a shot!

This is Zen String superwash merino in Splendor:

Ever-kind Angelina surprised me with an extra 4 oz. of this when I ordered it, due to a shipping delay, so I have enough for a scarf - I'm thinking linen stitch - which I can't wait to start on as the yarn is sooo soft and colorful.

Finally, I feel terrible that I lied on a post a while back - the things down at the bottom that I said weren't socks? Yeah, they totally were. Here they are, in fact:

They're Bellatrix socks from Socktopia/Gigi Silva (whose site seems to be down at this post), knit from Zen String Bambewe in the Blissed colorway. I love how the yarn behaved with the funny yarnovers in the pattern.

Anyway - I'll be back soon, and hope you have a happy new years!

Just a quickie

Here's my handspun as mentioned in the last post. Not perfect, but so pretty! I wish there was decent light so you could see the colors better, but what can a girl do?

It's a merino roving from Spunky Eclectic (bought at Mass. Sheep and Wool), in Toronto. The colors are pretty close to this, but in person it seems more....alive?

BikeJerk took me to the Mt. Auburn Cemetary today for the first time - designed by Olmsted, and ever so lovely. It's full of trees in so many lovely shades, I couldn't help but want to knit them....

And what have we here?

Things that aren't socks? No way!

[Notice how I'm not even mentioning that the Red Sox SWEPT the World Series here? No sense in dredging up the past, right? After all, this is a socks-free post, and I feel I've sort of given up my right to gloat and cheer by allowing myself to get distracted all week by all the medieval Charlemagne material I've been forced to wade through (stupid dissertation research - so distracting)...]

I'm afraid to type this in fear that if I say that fall is finally here, the weather will suddenly change and it'll be 80 degrees and humid again tomorrow. Please, no more summer, honestly! Proof that it's autumn? I made my first apple pie of the season on Halloween - local Gravenstein apples, and my best crust ever - and the sedum has turned the loveliest shade:

I never knit scarves for some reason (too boring?) and yet I love wearing them - partially because when I moved north to New England, I finally discovered that they were more than just decoration! Also, they're pretty. This one is made from Yarn Pirate's merino/tencel sock yarn in Butternut (Booty club September (?)), and is a chevron pattern not entirely unlike that in the Jaywalker socks. This yarn didn't call to me for socks, but I really like it in this scarf. and it'll be so nice and soft on my neck.

And another autumnal scarf, for my brother:

This is from that cake of handspun that I flashed last post. I swatched several things, but everything seemed to get eaten up by the yarn. It ended up being plain old stockinette with a garter edging (I steam-ironed it and everything, so I hope it won't curl too much), which shows up the color variation as well as the sort of rustic and charming size variation in the spinning (since I'm not so good at the thicker spinning). It's a Christmas present, so more photos in December!

Almost immediately after I finished the thick spinning for that scarf, I (very slowly) spun up a whole lot of very fine singles as an antidote:

Which I just finished plying:

It's merino I dyed myself, and it turned out to be a thickish lace-weight. I haven't figured out the yardage yet, but as it's about 8 oz., it might be enough for a stole...and I do love how the colors ended up working!

I swear, this isn't a sock. Totally sock -free post, definitely...

Keeping it simple

Dang! I really intended to post this weekend, but then the Baudelaires were so close to being finished, and there were chores, and well, it's Thursday again. Sigh.

On the upside, the Baudelaires are done, and I love them:

Pattern: Baudelaire by Cookie A, in medium with large instep modifications
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Navy
Needles: my handy bamboo dpns in US size 2

I love the socks, but I especially love learning a new technique, as I did with the toe-up heel flap. I'm sure I'll be trying all the alternative toe-up heel flaps now, but I do like this one: it looks and feels great:
Also finished, my mom's Hidcote Garden Shawl for her trip to China this fall:

I'm sorry that I don't have any good pictures of the whole thing - I wanted to get it sent off to my mom, so I couldn't wait for the BikeJerk to get home. I hope my mom will send me some of her wearing it that I can post. Trust me, it's gorgeous. ;)

Pattern: Hidcote Garden Shawl by Miriam Felton
Yarn: HandMaiden Seasilk in Forest
Needles: AddiTurbo LACE (yes!!!) needles, size 3.

I loved the pattern and the yarn. I haven't seen anyone else knit it in a variegated yarn, but I think it worked out nicely. It's not distracting in the body, and makes a neat wavy pattern in the final section.

Finally - handspun merino singles that I dyed myself:

It's on its way to being something gorgeous, I'm sure. I love how vivid the colors are. They remind me of the beach, or a meadow, or something natural anyway.

This is your brain on...

...I don't know quite what, but it's crazy!

I know it's no excuse for not posting for a week, but last week was a real bummer for me, and it took me a while to snap out of it. Last Tuesday the water main going into our house burst, which was stressful, but ultimately not too big a problem, since the city's lead pipe replacement program fixed it for pretty cheap.

Then it was jury duty for three days. Which was both good and scarring. It was good because our deliberations gave me the tiniest speck of hope for humanity - I truly was amazed and pleased that 12 people of such different backgrounds, biases, and (let's be honest) intelligence levels, could manage not only to talk their way through some vague and complicated evidence and law, but do it in a polite and respectful manner. Still, it was scarring. Not only because of the long days and lengthy periods of enforced boredom where we had to be attentive but had nothing to be attentive to - that was painful, but in a familiar way that I can deal with. But the burden that comes with taking someone's fate in your hands, even as one of 12, is a heavy one. Our deliberations took as long as all the rest of the trial because, I think, we were aware both that the evidence was meagre to be making any sort of decision on and that our decision would affect the life of a young man who really did just seem to have made a mistake, and one that didn't hurt anyone in the end. We did eventually declare him guilty, which was the right outcome, but it still felt bad to be responsible for someone else's punishment. It wasn't such a huge case, but I still think about it. I feel a little silly about that, but there it is.

Oh, and I almost forgot: then, on Saturday, the basement half flooded because the guys doing the waterpipe repairs randomly and for no reason disconnected the washing machine discharge, so that soapy water poured everywhere. Awesome!

Things are better now (how could they not be?!), but my knitting/spinning life is still reflecting the madness that was last week. I just couldn't stop. First, a laceweight yarn I just finished plying up a few days ago:

This is the merino/tencel singles that I spun a while back (from The Sheep Shed at Mountain View Farm, Midnight colorway), which I plied with some tussah silk that I died a light blue. I was afraid I was going to be really disappointed because I really loved the merino/tencel singles, but had some trouble getting used to the silk, but I think it actually turned out pretty well. It came out at about 520 yards, so there's definitely enough for a lace scarf.

Here's my finished Shedir (pdf!) (sorry for not modelling it!):

It's for my mom's boyfriend, as I mentioned before. Which is a little weird, since I've never met him (they live 1000 miles away!), but my mom seems to like him, and hey - I'm a knitter! I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to knit a pattern I'm interested in just because I don't know the person who's getting it! Sheesh.

You might be thinking by now: this doesn't seem that crazy. Sure, she knit a hat in a week - who doesn't do that?
And the Baudelaire is progressing - no surprise, right? Btw, Cookie A isn't kidding - that lace isn't very stretchy! Mine is worked with the modifications she provides for the 'high instep', and it fits totally fine (and looks lovely, no?), but I could not have made it even one repeat longer, it just would have been too tight. Btw2, I love this heel for toe-up socks - it may be the new standby. A few more steps than the short-row heel, but it makes a real heel flap and fits great (pictures next time).

For whatever reason, the Charade socks are progressing slowly:

I think they look good - and feel good too, but this is as far as I've gotten on the whole pair. Why, you might ask?

Because I felt compelled, out of sheer perversity, to cast on for the River Rapid sock. Obviously. It was the yarn that made me do it! Anyone know what it is? This isn't a contest, I'll tell you next time...

And that's not all! I also cast on for this:

Which seemingly doesn't photograph at all well. It's from the Elizabeth 1 collection by JoLene M. Treace (which I think I got through KnitPicks, but heck if I can remember). I'm using the laceweight merino I got from Spunky Eclectic in the colorway Soylent. I haven't gotten to use my 'it's people line' but I will. I know it in my heart. I never was made consciously aware of how given to bad puns I am until I started blogging. Sigh.

Of course, on top of all this I'm working on my mom's shawl AND designing what may be an octopus for Claire AND spinning some really pretty roving I dyed myself (pictures later this week!). Oh, and now I'm obsessed with Jodi Picoult - whose Simple Truth I bought during the trial because I remembered a certain knit-blogger raved about her - so even though it's reading, I still say it counts as part of my knitting spree!

So, sorry for the long post...

[edited: The Jodi Picoult book is _Plain_ Truth, not Simple Truth. Sometimes you just need to look at the bookshelf!]

Cloudy day blues

Blues, simply because I've moved back into my color comfort zone: after all those pinks and reds, I give you blue and green! Not that I didn't love my dip in the warm colors, and I know I'll be back, but it feels like coming home.

Despite my slow start on the cuff, I've been zooming along on the Eleanora socks:

The pattern looks tricky because it's full of charts, but after the decreases at the top, it's just continuing in pattern - detailed textural pattern, sure, but look how nice it looks!

I realize that it's based on a Renaissance sock, but to me it seems more medieval. Maybe wishful thinking, but since I study the Middle Ages, I'm going to keep on thinking that.

At the same time, I'm working on a sort of brainless sock for the BikeJerk. He picked the yarn and the pattern, which is more than he'll usually submit to in the summer - he usually just says he can't think about socks until the fall:

The yarn is Austermann Step, which is enjoyable to work with even if I find myself skeptical that there's really Aloe in there. What are they? Magic? The pattern is very liberally adapted from the Parachute pattern in More Sensational Knitted Socks - I replaced the yarn-overs with make-one-stitchs to make it less lacy, and then found that the written instructions don't make the pictured pattern! The center of the pattern is a double decrease, but the written instructions give the wrong one. So I changed that too. It was a bit frustrating, but I'm calming down. As I should, now that I'm past the heel and just doing ribbing...

And finally, an unsatisfactory picture of some handspun (this is becoming a tradition, no?):

It's alpaca from Spunky Eclectic, in Macaw, spun to fingering weight. It was a dream to spin, and the singles were so even and strong that I could have skipped plying...except that there was altogether too much white. I cannot abide white, so I plied. Still pale, but not white! Whew!

I'm off to contemplate my birthday (this weekend!)! I'm a little worried because it's supposed to be raining on Saturday, which is the annual summer BBQ and birthday party (Tinapalooza is the BikeJerk's name for it, of which I entirely approve), but it's still my birthday, and although I'm past the age where people are supposed to be excited for their birthdays, I love it beyond all other days. Yay!

It's no more than I deserve

Look, Miriam Felton is not a designer to be messed with. I don't mean that when you download one of her patterns, she comes over to your house and threatens to break your legs if you don't follow it to the letter (though this would have been helpful in my case). No, she's just a careful, detailed designer who means what she says, often in wonderful ways.

I know this, because I didn't listen to one of her directions. It comes from being a lazy, lazy, lazy person. Too lazy to read the five, yes FIVE, lines of pattern that would have told me why I needed a provisional cast on for socks. I read 'use provisional cast on to...' and barely even thought twice when I used a regular old long-tail cast-on. Then, 5 lines later, when the pattern said 'knit together one stitch from your provisional cast-on with on working stitch' the lightbulb went off. Aha! Right, yes, I should listen to the designer! Just to punish myself (and make less than half an inch of sock knitting take well over an hour) I unpicked my cast on edge rather than starting over. That's what I get.

Luckily, the sock is turning out very nicely, or I might just have gone mad:

In the midst of the unpicking, I took a break and spun this:

Yay! back to thin spinning! It's a merino tencel blend (much shinier in real life, but I couldn't take a good sun picture), and because I bought it before I really knew how I felt about tencel, I only bought 2 oz. WHY?!? It's so pretty, but two ounces? I want to make something out of it...I'm thinking that I could dye up some silk or merino in a light aqua (it's hard to tell in the picture, but it's just over half blue) and ply it with that. I think that would keep the colors clear and pretty and make enough yarn for a lacy scarf or something like that. Ah well. These are the good kinds of dilemmas!

Have a good weekend!

Sizzle!

My radoactive Sweetpea socks are finished, and they're HOT! (to match the weather!)

The below pictures show the socks and the pattern better, but the color is closest in the frying pan picture. I'm afraid that they might catch on fire!


Pattern: Sweetpea needles: US size 2 dpn
yarn: Schaeffer Anne (no colorway name)

This was my first time using this yarn, and I really enjoyed it. It's amazingly soft, and the mohair adds a nice sheen to the fabric. It's thinner than some sock yarn, so on the size 2s I usually use, the fabric was pretty thin (though it matched the called for gauge). That, combined with my smallish feet means I used less than half of the skein. Yes!

The pattern is listed as 'piquant' on knitty, but I didn't find it that hard. Once you get the hang of it, anyway. I was carefully keeping track of my rows for the first repeat of the first sock, but then it just fell into place. I love the meandering lace!

And I finished Rebekah's crazy German socks. They're not really that long, I swear, it's just the angle...

Finally, I went nuts spinning on the yarn for my brother's scarf:

Inspired by Carole's Tour de Fleece spinning, and the desire to spin for myself again, I zoomed through it (3 full bobbins) in just a few days - it's a dark autumnal single spun with another in shades of orange. He asked for something in golds and rusts, and I think that it turned out pretty well. I'm not sure of the yardage yet, as it's still wet, but it's _almost_ always sport weight. ;)

Not bad for one week, eh? And why am I knitting and spinning so much? Because I was _supposed_ to be working on research for a meeting with my advisor today. Now that the pressure's off, who knows what I'll be doing...

The debil made me do it

Made me cast on the June Zen String sock yarn. It came with a fun new pattern:

It's not SO wrong, except for the whole finishing what you start thing, and the following your own plans thing. Oh, well. The yarn is so delightfully springy - it's Blue Faced Leicester, which I've never worked with, but am enjoying very much. Not to think I've abandoned my senses altogether:

I DID finish one of my Monkeys out of my own handspun. I solved my problem with the bagginess of the leg by knitting the third and fourth leg repeats on size one needles, and the rest with twos. Worked perfectly.

The yarn is luscious - tencel is a new fiber I'm in love with. It looks and feels great. There'll be better pictures eventually, but it's grossly humid right now, and I can only bear to put on the sock early early in the morning. Side view:

Also, finally the BikeJerk was home in daylight, and took some Sarcelle pictures:


Finally, another project on hold until the humidity drops:

This is going to be a scarf for my brother, eventually. This singles is going to be spun with one that's orange and gold (and that I haven't spun yet). I'm having trouble consistently spinning thicker than sock yarn - I'm aiming for a sport or worsted weight, but my hands just want to make it thin!

I think it's really sweet how this project came about - I knit my brother a hat out of some of the first handspun yarn I ever made. It's all lumpy and weird (spun on a huge beginner spindle), but apparently he enjoys wearing it and telling people that I spun and knit it, so he's asked for a scarf to go with it. I think it's cute that he likes to brag about my fiber skilz!

Socky Summer Anticipation

Everyone seems to have a sock technique that makes them happiest - probably a combination of how they learned, what fits best on their own feet, and what's funnest to knit/looks best to them. This is awesome, but it can make for comedy when sock knitters collide: the circular needle crew just do not understand the staunch dpn-ers ('People, you can make TWO at a time!'), while the dpn boosters perhaps enjoy the defensive possibilities of 4-5 pointy little needles. There are toe-up lovers and cuff-down aficionados, and never the twain shall meet (this is the opportunity for someone to invent a heel-start sock and start a war). I won't even go into the intricacies of the methods of negotiating a heel turn. To gusset or not to gusset, that IS the question. Meanwhile, of course, the non-knitters and sock newbies stand by and gaze in perplexed wonder. What bliss!

Yes, Summer of Socks 2007 is about to begin, and I am reviewing my sock thoughts. Before I get into that too far (or people stop reading because they're sick of socks - horrid thought), here are some nice garden pictures:

Does anyone know what the first one is? It was here when we moved in - it comes back every year, but doesn't introduce itself. The second, I'm told, is called a maidenhead, which seems sort of risque, but that might just be me.

On to socks! First, the two sock projects in progress that need to be finished or sidelined before June 21. Rebekah's crazy German socks are halfway done:

Stylish, or what? In case you were wondering, it's posing on the chimney - those lines on the side aren't some futuristic art project, just siding. The best part about this sock is what the flecks of red did on the back of the leg. Am I the only one that thinks of Curt Schilling's famous (Red Sox win the World Series) sock?: And the June TOFUtsies sock club sock:

I'm really enjoying this project - the pattern is very nice (see how the ribbing goes into the pattern?) and easy to remember. I'm sure I'll use it again. And the yarn is very cool to work with. Because of the direction it's spun and because I'm a continental style knitter, it tends to untwist a bit, but it has a really nice feel, sort of cottony, but with a lot more drape to it. Hard to explain, but I'll definitely be using this yarn, even after the sock club is over. I even think I like the pink. Every now and then I see it and do a double take: 'man, is that pink!', but it's growing on me, and it's good to embrace change, right?

Now, projects for the SOS! This is the yarn I spun from the ZenString roving:



So shiny and soft and yellow and purple (which is sort of washed out except in the first picture)! I think I want to use this for my first sock of the along. I'm thinking Monkey, since I've been wanting to try a Cookie A pattern for a while (and then knit them all), and since I haven't yet made TheOneThey'reAllTalkingAbout!

Then . . . . . do I dare to Baudelaire?:

That's a Fleece Artist skein in Indian Summer that's been calling out for something special. And I did say I want to knit them all!

Finally (for the starting lineup), I'm thinking the Eleanora sock in this louet gems:

I saw the originials in a museum in Florence last summer. They're stunning, though a bit corpse-juice imbued. These shouldn't have that problem, though it would be cool if they lasted as long!

Silver lining?

My Sunday and Monday this week can only be described as craptastic (I stole that word from someone else, but it's so apt). Sunday I realized I had broken my toe on Saturday and it hurt (it's not as bad as it sounds, but it does put a cramp in my imaginary ballet career). And Monday I realized, on my way to school in the pouring rain, that the (admittedly 10 year-old) raincoat my dad made me was no longer waterproof. I realize I can fix that, but sitting in the library damp and grumpy, even that thought was no cheer. I didn't get anything done, and I was sullen and morose. About many things. Often.

But, although there's supposed to be a humongous, hail-throwing thunderstorm today, all that glumness is gone. Firstly, I started knitting a socklet from the merino I dyed and spun not long ago (sorry, forgot pictures of the yarn):

I'm not sure how/why, but this is the first sock I've made out of my own yarn. And I think it's just dandy. The yarn is so sproingy! (The pattern is very slightly modified from the Padded Footlet in Favorite Socks.) I only hope I have enough yarn to make it around two heels! Fingers crossed!

Random neat thing - the pot in front of which that socklet was pictured holds this plant:

Which, if you look closely, you can see is growing some figs. Yes, figs in MA. Not only that, but this tree is grown from a cutting we got from our neighbor who grew up right here, who grew her tree from a cutting that her grandfather brought over with him from Italy. And she gets figs every year. I'm so excited!

And further cheerful goodness:

The very start of the Awaken roving I got from Zen String. It's so very iris-y and purty. And I was spinning it on my porch while the sun was setting (or getting covered with giant thunderheads). How could that not cheer me up?

And finally, a happy pup and lobelia (which I didn't _really_ believe I could capture on film. In pixels?):


(Also: finally got a good bit of research done. Woohoo! Anyone else like medieval manuscripts? You can see some neat ones here.)